Police say off-duty NYPD officer shot man 6 times

NEW YORK — An off-duty NYPD officer has been arrested on an assault charge after police say he apparently fired his service weapon at random, wounding a suburban New York man who was shot six times while he was sitting in a car at a stoplight, authorities announced Wednesday.An officer with the Pelham Police Dep...

NEW YORK — An off-duty NYPD officer has been arrested on an assault charge after police say he apparently fired his service weapon at random, wounding a suburban New York man who was shot six times while he was sitting in a car at a stoplight, authorities announced Wednesday.

An officer with the Pelham Police Department chased Officer Brendan Cronin for several blocks, pulling him over in New Rochelle just before midnight Tuesday after a 911 caller told dispatchers the driver of the car suspected in the shooting had its hazard lights on, Pelham Police Chief Joseph Benefico said at a press conference.

Cronin, who works in the 46th precinct in the Bronx, waved his Glock 9 mm out of the window after he was pulled over, dropping it and his car keys only after being told repeatedly to do so by the arresting officer, Benefico said.

The 27-year-old Yonkers resident also refused to take a Breathalyzer test, the police chief said.

Benefico described Tuesday's shooting as "dangerous and bizarre."

"We have not been able to find any link between the two persons," he said, noting 13 shell casings and broken glass were found at the scene. "We have nothing to link either party to each other — no road rage, nothing."

The 47-year-old man, shot in the torso, arm and hands, walked into a hospital in New Rochelle where he told investigators he was sitting in the passenger side of a car when he heard gunshots and believed he'd been hit, Benefico said. He then asked the driver to take him to a hospital.

The man, whose name wasn't released by authorities, is in stable condition, Benefico said.

Cronin, a five-year NYPD veteran, was awaiting arraignment Wednesday night. He was suspended without pay.

It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney. A union official didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. A message left with Cronin's family wasn't immediately returned.